8. The Medieval “Love Lottery”
During the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day featured lottery-style matchmaking, where men drew women’s names to pair as partners, often leading to brief courtships or affairs. This practice could spark scandal and jealousy. However, some historians question the accuracy of this tradition, noting that the earliest descriptions of such lotteries appeared in the 15th century, and there is no ancient evidence for any kind of lottery or sortition scheme pairing couples for sex. (en.wikipedia.org)
